[wellingtons]

... pick a few leaves and put them into a cup, pour on boiling water ... lemon tea!

And to answer the question on the 5 most useful.  

The number one slot has to go to coriander, followed closely by rosemary, then basil ... that bit was easy.

The other two ... hmmm ... thyme I think (shepherd's pie without it would be tame).  And then mint ... I couldn't live without mint.

God that was actually really difficult to pick just 5!

In answer to do I use all that I have ... with the exception of the pretties (heartsease, chamomile etc) yes I do.  I have restricted myself to 90% edible, 10% pretties or insect playpens.

[mellowmick]

Cheers for all that!

[Oliver]

... can I ask what you do with the nigella ... just use the seeds??

It's a spice kinda like cumin check here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigella  

She grows three kinds of 'nigella'
Nigella Sativa (kolonji) - the black seeds that taste a bit peppery, edible
Nigella Damescena - love in the mist, pale blue or white flowers, round seed pod. She has not tried to eat the seed, but uses the flowers and dry the seed pods
Nigella Hispanica - similar love in the mist flower, but different seed pod - deep maroonish, more spikey and lovely dark blue flower (also white). Ditto N. Damescena

On another note, Heather - Soapwort is amazingly invasive. it spreads by rhizomes and can take over. It has some pretty strange uses, none of them edible! nice pink flower for drying.

[Heather_S]

Yeah I'm growing lots of invasive things, Oliver, read my previous thread on the ethics of planting knowingly invasive but legal plants.
http://www.allotment-garden.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=524
Need soapwort to make my own insectidical soap. Will possibly also come in handy if I ever grow and make my own linen... i'll be 100% suffient one day!   Soapwort is very good for cleaning linen and fine fabrics.

[earthgirl]

if you could only grow 5 herbs what would they be ?

Coriander (for Indian & Mexican cooking)
Basil (for Italian cooking)
Sage (for stuffing)
Oregano (for Greek salad)
Flat-leaf Parsley (for lotsa stuff)

According to Fothergill's, all of the above except sage can be grown indoors on the windowsill.

 

[Oliver]

if you could only grow 5 herbs what would they be ?

Ditto earthgirl,

Several oregano because the butterflies love it
But she also grows:

thyme (when it flowers just cut it back and it comes up nice and green again)
chives
rosemary (lovely in shortbread)
lovage ( one leaf goes into couscous with lots of other herbs)
bronze fennel (loved by hoverflies, decoration on blini)
borage (because once you've got it, you've got it forever!)
calendula
nasturtuims (the seeds are nice - like caperberries)
catmint (for me and the otherone - we just sit ad eat it if we get half a chance LOVE the smell)
madder (for the lovely yellow flowers - beautiful in the spring when the plot is bare)
mint (for next door's potatoes. she hates minty things)
comfrey

By the way, don't grow rue near sage - rue appears to kill sage

[milkman]

cats can't count can they?!

[Oliver]

cats can't count can they?!

I can! I can also read.

[James]

Lemon Balm.  I don't find it invasive; what it is, is vigorous.  It'll grow 2-3 feet tall and make a nice bush in the herbacious border like other perennials.  But again like perennials, it doesn't really get much bigger, although you can lift-and-split successfully.

Supermarket herbs:  Thyme grows brilliantly.  I bought 4 pots from Asda for 49p each and split them into 10+ plants each.  Within four weeks, 30' of slightly ugly brickwork along the edge of some beds was covered.  Chives and parsley and mint and corriander and basil - just tip the pot out into the ground as is and it'll grow nicely for you.

Lemon balm goes very nicely in Pimms.  It also smells nice in the border.  Apart from that... it's super as a decoration for puddings - e.g. lemon meringue pie (which I hate), put a few leaves on the top.

Beware the curry plant.  It smells like curry and garden centres will recommend that you cook with it.  Dr Hessyan (sp?) tells us that it is toxic.


I don't see the point in restricting myself to five herbs... they're outside the back door, at the entrance to the garden and can be picked without stepping outside.  Useful living in our current monsoon climate!

Rosemary, Sage (fry the leaves briefly and serve with calves liver, mmmmm), Thyme, Parsley, Oregano.

[Annie]

Only 5 is too hard,I would have to have a summer and winter list.

  Summer.
    Parsley
    Chives
    Basil-lots to make roast tomato sauce to freeze or bottle.
    French tarragon
    Corriander

  Winter

   Bay
   Thyme
   Parsley-big pot outside back door
   Rosemary
   Sage


Personally I like borage and apple mint in my pimms,and had loads of lemon balm when we first had this garden and it still keeps resurfacing despite my best efforts!

 I think the best way to use the greenhouse in winter is for sheltering cuttings of herbs this way a tiny plant from the garden centre can make quite a few plants and friends and neighbours may have things,so propogating is free.The super market parsley split into three is certainly worthwhile and will still grow enough to kep you going through winter.

  I can remember who grows heartsease but I have been trying to find seeds for ages,do you know where i can buy some?

[wellingtons]

... that grows heartsease ... but I had to buy a plant.  I am hoping to collect some seeds.  If I do and you would like some e-mail your address to me through the private message doohickey here and I'll pop some in the post for you ...